1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus, an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a computer program. More specifically, for example, the invention relates to an imaging apparatus, an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a computer program, which process and store RAW data that is taken by an imaging apparatus such as a digital camera and does not undergo signal processing with parameters.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, with the wide spread of digital cameras and information processing units such as a personal computer (PC) which can process images, a process can be done easily in such a way that an image taken by a digital camera is captured into an image processing apparatus such as a PC, a program for image processing installed in the image processing apparatus is used to edit and process data of the image taken by the digital camera, the data is displayed on a display as an image adapted to user's tastes, and the image is outputted through a printer.
For a processing form in the case in which an image taken by a digital camera is captured into an apparatus such as a PC, there are a form in which image data is processed based on predetermined parameters set in the digital camera, such as parameters for brightness, color tones, white balance, contrast and sharpness, data is formed in the JPEG format or the TIFF format, for example, and then the data is captured into an apparatus such as a PC, and a method in which data is taken by an imaging device such as a CCD of a digital camera, RAW image data is captured into an apparatus such as a PC with no image processing based on these parameters and no signal processing based on various parameters, and image processing is done on the PC.
A RAW image is data before camera signal processing, and is equivalent to a negative film for a film camera. The RAW image undergoes image processing in various ways to obtain an objective image. Image processing to obtain an objective image from a RAW image is also called a development process. For many pieces of digital imaging apparatus such as a digital still camera, many of them create and output an image that preset parameters are applied to finish a development process, for example, data in the JPEG format and the TIFF format described above.
However, the development process based on the parameters provided by a camera manufacturer may not be matched with a process desired by a user all the time. There is a growing demand that various parameters used for a development process (hereinafter, referred to as a development parameter set) are adjusted to do desired development to obtain an objective image of higher quality. In this trend, various manufacturers offer. Digital still cameras that can output a RAW image file and RAW data development software packages that can perform a sophisticated development process.
In the configuration allowing a process to which RAW data is applied, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, a digital camera 10 stores data in a predetermined file format in a memory card 20 such as a flash memory mounted on the digital camera 10. For example, RAW data is stored in a RAW data storage area 21, and a predefined specific parameter set and support information corresponding to the stored RAW data are stored in a parameter and support information storage area 22. In addition, for a data storage unit, it is not limited to the flash memory, which may be a storage medium such as a hard disk drive and a DVD, or may be configured to use an external storage connected to a network.
An image processing apparatus 30 such as a PC which implements image processing reads RAW data, parameters and support information out of the memory card 20 for image processing. Alternatively, a process can be done in such a way that the parameters set on the image processing apparatus 30 side are used for image processing (a development process) to store a developed image in a storage part on the image processing apparatus 30 side.
However, the development process is a highly complicated process, and a resulted image is greatly varied depending on the combinations of the ways of the development process and the parameters for use. A user has to create a suitable development parameter set in accordance with his/her purpose as occasion demands for creating a desired image. In addition, information such as the rotation of an image, a color space for use, the scaling of the image, a title and attributes (hereinafter, referred to as support information) is also important to create an objective image.
In the development process, a user can apply a parameter set and support information suitable for his/her tastes for image processing (the development process), and create a developed image to record the developed image created in a memory. However, the parameter set and the support information applied at this time are not held separately. For example, a process may not be done in such a way that a different parameter set and support information are applied to a single item of RAW image data to efficiently create images in different forms.
Some of existing RAW image file formats can leave a development adjustment history, but they may not separately hold development parameter sets and support information depending on purposes. Therefore, for example, it is inconvenient in the case in which different parameter sets are applied to a single RAW image depending on a plurality of purposes for development. In addition, there is a camera that can apply a specific parameter set for processing to develop an image when taken and can store the developed image along with RAW data at the same time. However, the developed image is only one image to which the specific parameter set is applied, and a process may not be done in such a way that a plurality of different developed images are acquired at the same time to which different parameter sets are applied.